Exploring the usability of a videophone mock-up for persons with dementia and their significant others

Abstract

BackgroundPersons with dementia might have considerable difficulties in using an ordinary telephone. Being able to use the telephone can be very important in order to maintain their social network, getting stimulation and for reaching help when needed. Therefore, persons with dementia might need an easy-to-use videophone to prevent social isolation and to feel safe and independent. This study reports the evaluation of the usability of a touch-screen videophone mock-up for persons with dementia and their significant others.MethodsFour persons with dementia and their significant others tested the videophone mock-up at a living laboratory. In order to gain knowledge of the participants’ with dementia ability to use their own computers and telephones, interviews and observations were conducted.ResultsOverall, the participants had a very positive attitude towards the videophone. The participants with dementia perceived that it was useful, enjoyable and easy to use, although they initially had difficulties in understanding how to handle some functions, thus indicating that the design needs to be further developed to be more intuitive.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that the videophone has the potential to enable telephone calls without assistance and add quality in communication.

Assistive technology for people with dementia: an overview and bibliometric study

“…45,46 AT research in Sweden usually revolves around improving interaction among people with dementia and their caregivers through specialised devices like tailored mobile phones and video mockups. 6,47 For improving rehabilitation of people with dementia, timing devices are also commonly used for safety of older adults living at their homes. 48 Most of the AT research activities in Italy are focused on ambient intelligence for cognitively impaired people with dementia.…”

“…65 Involving social care in combination with AT Although there is research going on AT development for people with dementia and helping people with dementia to have quality life, still literature suggests that too much use of AT brings aggression in people with dementia as they believe that by adopting AT, their family and caregivers will reduce their visits to them. 6,35 Therefore, there is a strong need for cooperation between academia and industry to manage this challenge by adopting a balance between AT and human care factor for better results.…”

“…3 This overview is carried out on using assistive technology (AT) for people with dementia. [4][5][6][7] According to Hersh and Johnson, AT is defined as 'a generic term that covers technologies, equipment, devices, apparatus, services, systems, processes and environmental modifications used by disabled and/or elderly people to overcome the social, infrastructural and other barriers to independence, full participation in society and carrying out activities safely and easily'. 8 From the literature, it is noted that the focus of AT research so far has been on the issues related to the wellbeing of people with dementia as well as proposing new technologies to improve this.…”

“…© 2017 Health Libraries Group Health Information & Libraries Journal, 34, pp [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Assistive technology for people with dementia, Ikram Asghar et al13 …”

Influence of Assistive Technology for the maintenance of the Functionality of Elderly People: an integrative review

“…Exploring the usability of a videophone mock-up for persons with dementia and their significant others [16].…”